6/1: The Gladly in Phoenix hosts Seven Chef Pig-Out

Put seven inventive Valley chefs together in a room with a pig, and it doesn't bode well for the pig. But it does benefit the diners who will enjoy a nose-to-tail feast at the Gladly in Phoenix on Sunday, June 1.

The Seven Chef Pig-Out, sponsored by Tender Belly pork, is a feast on everything from pork belly to trotters. Each chef is challenged to create a statement dish, drawing from a variety of pig breeds to showcase how different hogs taste, well, different.

Working the magic will be chefs Bernie Kantak of the Gladly and Citizen Public House in Scottsdale; Gio Osso of Virtù Honest Craft in Scottsdale; Josh Hebert of Posh in Scottsdale; Cullen Campbell of Crudo in Scottsdale; and Stephen Jones of Blue Hound Kitchen in downtown Phoenix.

Also participating are Kelly Fletcher, who was formerly with House of Tricks in Tempe and has a soon-to-be-announced new restaurant; and chef Gregory Casale, who owned the much-lauded Gregory's Grill and Gregory's World Bistro. He is now director of culinary development for Peter Piper Pizza.

Diners will get seven items on their plates, one from each chef.

Denver-based Tender Belly is considered one of the nation's premier heritage-breed pork suppliers. Clients range from top restaurants to significant events like the Cochon 555 nationwide celebrity chef cook-off series. The operation, owned by Iowa-born brothers Erik and Shannon Duffy, works only with farmers who raise just about 100 animals at a time, so each pig can be meticulously monitored for best feeding, health care and happiness.

Rather than pink pigs, which the Duffys say have been genetically modified, Tender Belly focuses on natural heritage breeds like Berkshires with distinctive, coarse black hair — prized for juiciness, flavor and tenderness. The pigs usually eat very well, too, including acorns, fresh milk whey and spent brewer's grain left over from beer brewing.

The result? Meat with superior "nuttiness and marbling," according to an article on Tender Belly in Food & Wine magazine last summer.

For the June 1 lunchtime gathering, diners can explore recipes using Mangalitsa, a descendant of the wild boar that is often used for sausage and smoked ham, along with Berkshire and Duroc breeds.

Other savories include Iberico, a type of cured ham revered as one of the finest in the world; trotters (yes, feet); and plenty of bacon.